Let's have it: The favorite Batgirl poll

**ticklefist** · 11-01-2012, 03:35 PM

Steph. But in a totally non-competitive way. It wasn't a conscious decision or anything. She just happened to be Batgirl when I decide to read Batgirl.

**Bluebow** · 11-01-2012, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by stk

Barbara followed by Cassandra.

Stephanie wasn't horrible, but I prefer her in her own identity of Spoiler. I never understood why she'd need or even want to adopt someone else's identity. She was already a great hero and a great character.

Acceptance. She was told to stop being Spoiler and sacked as Robin by Batman, but ultimately accepted by him as Batgirl. Even so she didn't "need the test" and he deserved the slap.

**stk** · 11-01-2012, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by Bluebow

Acceptance. She was told to stop being Spoiler and sacked as Robin by Batman, but ultimately accepted by him as Batgirl.

But all that read as writers desperately trying to invent an excuse to get her in the suit, rather than something the character would do.

**sunofdarkchild** · 11-02-2012, 01:11 AM

Originally Posted by stk

But all that read as writers desperately trying to invent an excuse to get her in the suit, rather than something the character would do.

The point is to combine Batgirl's greater visibility with Steph's optimistic disposition to inspire people in a way neither would be able to accomplish without the other. So her impact as Batgirl goes far beyond the individual crimes she stops or the lives she saves. She is able to give more hope to Gotham than either of the previous batgirls or she'd be able to doing the exact same thing as Spoiler. She had been able to have that effect on the bat-family, particularly on Bruce, Tim, and Cass, but Spoiler couldn't be high-profile enough to extend the effect very far beyond that. We see it in The Grey Ghost, the terrorist who gave up on Gotham untl he met her, and her very visible effect on Gotham's children. It is the reason Bruce had Cass give the job up to her.

**Godlike13** · 11-02-2012, 08:47 AM

No its not, Bruce had Cass give the job up to her because it was his way of giving Steph a second chance. Kind of sucks for Cass that Bruce made her give up the job for Steph, but lets not dwell on that.

**Statham** · 11-02-2012, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by Godlike13

No its not, Bruce had Cass give the job up to her because it was his way of giving Steph a second chance. Kind of sucks for Cass that Bruce made her give up the job for Steph, but lets not dwell on that.

He hardly made her, since I don't think Cass would just give it up to anyone - and let's face it, that was a pretty shoddy line of reasoning to explain away the fact DC had no clue who would be in the actual Batgirl title of the time for a good while - And Cass hardly came out of it worse for wear. Frankly, Cass should've been put in the Blackbat guise the second her series ended, given the uncertainty it ended on for her. Whereas Steph needed the acceptance the Batgirl role gave, Cass was the one who needed to branch out and find her own way. Blackbat eventually did that, but it was just a shame we had to sit through about a year of Evil!Batgirl and then long periods of nothing and crap.

**Bluebow** · 11-02-2012, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by stk

But all that read as writers desperately trying to invent an excuse to get her in the suit, rather than something the character would do.

If someone gave you a real Batsuit would you not be tempted to at least try it on? and once she had it on Barbara Gordon told her to stop and her stubborness took over.

**the Eviltoadman** · 11-03-2012, 08:05 PM

My first exposure to Batgirl was Yvonne Craig, so Babs lives in my heart. But, even her best stories suffer from 60's & 70's misogyny.

The only time I could stand Stephanie was when she was Robin. Spoiler? Spoiled--more like it.

Cassandra had an absolutely original power set and an emotional arc like nobody else.

**Trey** · 11-05-2012, 08:58 AM

The fans have spoken, Didio, Lee, and Johns!!!!

**vampiric_cannibal** · 11-05-2012, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by Trey

The fans have spoken, Didio, Lee, and Johns!!!!

IDK if CBR is a good place for market research. Otherwise X-Men would be a team consisting of Sage and Storm, occasionally cutting to Rachel Grey (possibly Howlett) thumping Thor.

**Rafa-Rivas-2099** · 11-05-2012, 11:43 PM

Originally Posted by Trey

The fans have spoken, Didio, Lee, and Johns!!!!

Sadly, you are right. These have to be the most unorganic years of DC and they created the worst look of the DC characters, but they sell. Now keep in mind that selling is not the only purpose of comics.